The present inventive concepts relate to semiconductor assembly apparatus and methods, and more particularly, to a semiconductor chip attaching apparatus and a semiconductor chip attaching method.
A semiconductor assembly process includes separating semiconductor chips manufactured using a wafer process, electrically connecting the separated semiconductor chips to each other to utilize the semiconductor chips as actual electric components, and sealing and packaging the semiconductor chips to protect the semiconductor chips from damage, for example, caused by an external impact. Generally, one wafer has tens or hundreds of semiconductor chips on which the same circuit pattern can be printed. The semiconductor chips formed on the wafer are separated from each other.
The semiconductor assembly process includes a die attaching process. The die attaching process includes a process in which the semiconductor chips are separated from a wafer and are mounted on a lead frame or a printed circuit board (PCB). The separated semiconductor chips are picked up and moved by a pick-up apparatus, and then attached to the lead frame or the PCB. Thereafter, interconnections connecting the semiconductor chips to the lead frame are formed.
With the trend towards high performance of electric devices, it is desirable an operation speed of a semiconductor chip becomes increasingly faster. Also, as electronic devices are miniaturized, a semiconductor package likewise becomes miniaturized, as well as slim and lightweight. In order to achieve this, the thickness of semiconductor chips can be reduced by performing a back grinding process in which a back surface of a wafer opposite a surface on which an integrated circuit is ground until a desired thickness is achieved. Accordingly, it is imperative that a semiconductor chip attaching apparatus accommodate such miniaturization.